﻿﻿ 9-Foot-Tall Statue of American Indian Leonard Peltier to be Installed at American University Museum Raises Awareness and Engagement Around Peltier’s Plight

WASHINGTON — As part of a major clemency push by supporters in the final days of President Barack Obama’s presidency, a nine-foot-tall statue of American Indian Leonard Peltier will be installed at American University Museum to raise awareness for Peltier’s plight and the pardon request. Peltier, convicted and sentenced in 1977 in the shooting of two Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, has maintained his innocence in the 41 years he’s been imprisoned, and his conviction has been contested by leading human rights organizations in the United States and beyond.

The statue, by California-based artist Rigo 23, will be placed outside the museum overlooking Massachusetts Avenue. It will be on display for an unspecified amount of time. A public dedication and unveiling of the statue will take place at 2:30 p.m. Friday, December 9 at the museum. The ceremony will be attended by the statue’s artist, Rigo 23; Oglala Sioux Vice Chairman Tom Poor Bear; Piscataway Chief Billy Red Wing Tayac; and former Angola 3 political prisoner Robert King, among others.

OST Vice President Tom Poor Bear

The Peltier statue is comprised of redwood, foam, epoxy, and paint, and is supported on an internal steel structure. It is designed to be mobile and dissembled in parts for easy transport and exhibition. The project is funded by Peltier supporters and community members, as well as the organization American Indian Movement West.

Supporters believe that Peltier was wrongfully convicted. Peltier has been designated a political prisoner by Amnesty International. Over 50 Members of Congress and others—including Judge Gerald Heaney (8th Circuit Court of Appeals) who sat as a member of the court in two of Peltier’s appeals—have all called for his immediate release. Appellate courts have repeatedly acknowledged evidence of government misconduct in the Peltier case—including knowingly presenting false statements to a Canadian court to extradite Peltier to the U.S., and forcing witnesses to lie at trial.

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